Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

We are discussing the widow's pension. Becoming a widow or widower normally happens as an unforeseen event. This provision mainly affects young widows and widowers. I welcome the reduction from ten years to five years in the amendment. If a person's spouse dies before he or she has five years - it used to be three years - of contributions, there is no contributory pension. It affects the very sad cases of young widows - taking widows in the generic sense - but statistically it affects more women than men. For what I regard as a very niggly cut affecting a very small number of people, how much money will the measure as amended save the Department in a full year?

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